Attorney General Sessions Delivers Remarks At The Major Cities Chiefs Association 2017 Fall Meeting About Project Safe Neighborhoods And Other Initiatives To Reduce Violent Crime

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:

Philadelphia, PA ~ Saturday, October 21, 2017:  Thank you Chief Manger, for that kind introduction.  And thank you for your 40 years of service in law enforcement. I know that the people of Montgomery and Fairfax Counties appreciate all that you’ve done for them.

Before I say anything else, I want to say thank you to Darrel Stephens, who is retiring as your Executive Director.  I’m told this is his last meeting.  Everyone please join me in a salute to Darrel for his lifetime of service to law enforcement.

On behalf of President Trump and the Department of Justice, I’m honored to be here with you all today—to be with the selfless and courageous men and women of law enforcement.  The President recognizes the importance of your work, and he is your strongest supporter.  He knows that your work is both noble, difficult and essential.

In many of your cities today, it’s getting even harder.

I want to talk about our situation today.

After 20 years of declining crime, the FBI’s annual crime report released three weeks ago reveals that for the last two years, the declines have been replaced by increases in violent crime.  These increases are the largest since 1991.  Even more troubling, the 2015 homicide rate increased 12 percent and in 2016 it went up another eight percent.  The 2015 increase was the highest since 1968 – a 20% increase in two years.

I strongly believe these trends are not a blip, and that if we do not act now and smartly, this nation could see a reversal of 40 years of  hard-won gains. The crime rate a few years ago had fallen to one half of 1980.

President Trump recognizes these threats to American families.  He ran for office—and he won—as a law-and-order candidate.  Now he is governing as a law-and-order president.

As soon as I was sworn in as Attorney General, he sent me an executive order to “reduce crime” in America.  We at the Department of Justice—and our state and local law enforcement partners—embrace that goal.

And, we in law enforcement know from experience that it can be done.  

That’s why, at the beginning of this month, after discussions with law enforcement across this country and our experts, I am pleased to discuss with you today – this group of law enforcement leaders – the Major Cities Chiefs Association –  something extremely important—a foundational strategy to reduce crime in America.  The Department of Justice is re-establishing a new and modernized Project Safe Neighborhoods—or PSN—program as our priority.  It will not be static but flexible and subject to change as experience and research dictates.

PSN is not just one policy idea among many.  This is the centerpiece of our crime reduction strategy.  There is great support for it among our experienced agents and prosecutors throughout the country—and importantly, our local partners.

As many of you know, this program began in 2001.  Based around a set of core principles, PSN encouraged U.S. Attorneys’ offices to work with the communities they serve to develop customized crime reduction strategies.

And it is a proven model.  One study showed that, in its first seven years, PSN reduced violent crime overall by 4.1 percent, with case studies showing reductions in certain areas of up to 42 percent.  That’s a remarkable achievement.  There are Americans who are alive and well today because this program made a difference.

Now, I know that there are other ideas out there.  But what we are talking about today is not just some theory.  We know that it works. Just like we know a well run community policing program works.

But why does it work?  I believe it works because of its emphasis on partnership with local communities, and because it has arisen from experience and sound research.

PSN is not a Washington-centered program.  In fact, it’s just the opposite.  PSN simply provides a flexible framework that can be adapted to the situation on the ground in local communities like yours across the country.

Every city, and every district is facing a different set of circumstances and challenges.  For example, increases in violent crime are occurring disproportionately in certain areas.  According to one study, half of all homicides in this country occur in just two percent of our counties.

That’s why I have directed our U.S. Attorneys to do two things.  First of all, to target and prioritize prosecutions on the most violent people in the most violent areas.  And second, to engage with a wide variety of stakeholders—from the police chiefs in this room to mayors to community groups and victims’ advocates—in order to identify the needs specific to their communities and develop a violent crime reduction plan.  U.S. Attorneys can help ensure that all the right people are at the table, and coordinate our efforts so that we are working together toward the same goals.  And our U.S. Attorneys know that I am going to hold them accountable for that.

Forging new relationships with local prosecutors and building on existing relationships will ensure that the most violent offenders are prosecuted in the most appropriate jurisdiction.  But our goal is not to fill up the courts or fill up the prisons.  Our goal is not to manage crime or merely to punish crime.  Our goal is to reduce crime, just as President Trump directed us to do.  Our goal is to make every community safer—especially the most vulnerable.  PSN recognizes that we must partner with locally-based crime prevention and re-entry programs to do that.

While there is no quick fix, we must be open to policies that prevent crime and reduce recidivism.

Partnering with community leaders, and taking the time to listen to the people we serve really works.  I remember, when I was a U.S. Attorney, my office prosecuted a gang in Mobile.  When the case was over, community leaders asked for a community meeting to talk about how we could further improve the neighborhood.  At the meeting we split up into 10 subgroups.   State, county, and local officials listened to the people and we developed a practical plan based on the requests of the people living in the neighborhood.  It was a city, county, state, and federal partnership using existing resources, to fix the community.

And it worked.  I have never forgotten that work.  The result was a transformed community in a surprisingly short period of time.  Crime went down; home values went up; new houses were built; a police precinct was established.  I’ve been back to that neighborhood many times to see the progress.

I will say, however, that we have even more research, experience, and information to be effective today than we did back then.  The technologies and data available to us now far surpass what we’ve used in the past. Our police officers and police leaders are more professional and trained than ever before.

With these advantages we can make PSN even better than ever.

Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein—a proud son of this city, by the way—will oversee implementation of these policy changes, and I could not be more confident in his leadership.  As the U.S. Attorney for the state of Maryland, he led the PSN program during its entire existence.  He knows it works and how to make it better.

An enhanced and expanded PSN will make better use of our resources. For example, we will be extending grant funding to implement the Crime Gun Intelligence Center model – which detects gunshots – to two new cities.  So far the Department has provided grant funding for it in Denver, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C..  Some of the people in this room—Chief Ed Flynn and Chief Charlie Beck—can tell you that it works.

Earlier this month I announced that we will extend funding to Kansas City and Phoenix.  Their police chiefs are here today: Chief Rick Smith and Chief Jeri Williams.  This grant funding will help you do your jobs—and you help us do our jobs.

And in the coming months, the Department will award more than $100 million in grants to state and local law enforcement agencies to hire more police officers.  We also intend to hire 230 new Assistant U.S. Attorneys in 2018 as a step toward our goal of eventually hiring a total of 300 new Assistant U.S. Attorneys.  These exceptional and talented prosecutors are key leaders in our crime fighting partnership.

With all of that in mind, the Department is asking Congress to invest in PSN.  The President’s fiscal year 2018 budget requested $70 million in locally-controlled grant funding to build on and expand the PSN initiative.

Our success, your success, in bringing down the crime rate for over two decades, and the promising success of PSN show us that there is hope.  Law enforcement officers—you and I—can make a difference.  With the right tactics and the right resources, we can reduce crime in this country.

And that’s what, together, we are determined to do so.

The Department of Justice will heed the President’s call. We will not concede a single block or street corner in the United States to lawlessness or crime.  The criminals, the gang members, and the drug traffickers should know:  we are coming after you—and we have better tools and are better coordinated than ever.

And so to everyone in this room, our friends and partners: thank you for your hard work to serve and protect this country.  It is truly a noble and high calling to work every day to ensure the safety and security of the people of this nation. You are on the front lines.

We are proud to stand with you.  God bless you all.

John Timoney, Who Rose From NYPD Beat Cop To Top Cop In Philadelphia And Miami, Dies

Chris Palmer at the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that former Philadelphia police commissioner John Timoney has died. He was 68.

You can read the piece via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20160818_Former_Philly_Police_Commissioner_John_Timoney_dies.html

I met John Timoney several times while he was Philadelphia's top cop.  I witnessed Timoney's hands on management style while covering the street riots during the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia in 2000.

I later interviewed John Timoney for Counterterrorism magazine. You can read the interview via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2010/08/interview-with-americas-top-cop-q-with.html

You can also read my Crime Beat column on John Timoney via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2010/06/on-crime-thrillers-tale-of-crime.html

The War On Cops: How The New Attack On Law And Order Makes Everyone Less Safe

Jeffrey G. Gahler offers a review of Heather Mac Donald's The War on Cops: How The New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe for the Washington Times.

In “The War on Cops,” Heather Mac Donald provides overwhelming and compelling data to discount the misguided, misplaced and too often malice-based attacks on the law enforcement profession taking place in our country every day. The proven and effective tactic of focusing police efforts on analytically identified high crime areas has improved the quality of life for countless honest, law-abiding citizens living in challenged neighborhoods throughout this country. More importantly, proactive and targeted enforcement have saved countless lives, many of whom are from urban areas and minority communities.

These same communities have seen the positive impact that purposed policing can offer. They have also seen the damage from false messaging and rhetoric. The assault on law enforcement has brought with it a reduced quality of life for those who desperately deserve a chance, and increased crime and unacceptable homicide rates to these same communities. The degradation of these communities is a direct byproduct of the war on cops. De-policing — a phenomenon of police not engaging or refusing to take proactive enforcement actions based on crime patterns and data — has led to a dramatic increase in violent crime and lives lost all over this country. You need to look no further than Baltimore or Chicago to see the impact of de-policing, which is well documented within these pages.

The attacks on law enforcement, attacks based on false information or outright lies crafted to discredit an entire profession, are undeserved. As outlined in the data provided by Ms. Mac Donald, the police profession is the one aspect of government that has had a meaningful impact in many of the communities in need. Over the past several decades, program upon program, dollar upon dollar, have been “invested” in struggling communities trying to make them better. While most have failed, it is our police who have not. It is our police who have held the line for the people the programs have failed.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/25/book-review-the-war-on-cops-how-the-new-attack-on-/ 

Louisiana Police Captain's Warning To 'Heathen' Gang Members Goes Viral

Foxnews.com offers a look at the blunt video a Louisiana police captain made for gang members.

A Louisiana police captain's extremely blunt message to local gang members is quickly going viral.

Capt. Clay Higgins directed his warning at the Gremlins gang, explaining that ten suspected members have been arrested, but seven remain at-large.

The fugitives are accused of committing murders, thefts and drug-related crimes. In many cases, however, victims declined to cooperate with police.

Higgins warned the wanted gang members that they will be brought to justice.

"If you raise your weapon to a man like me, we'll return fire with superior fire. ... I'll meet you on solid ground anytime, anywhere, light or heavy, makes no difference to me. You won't walk away," he said.

And he urged the community not to live in fear of the gang and to come together to "take back" the streets.  

You can watch the video via the below link:

http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/02/18/viral-video-police-captains-message-gremlins-gang-members

Inside Today’s FBI: Newseum D.C. Museum Updates Popular Exhibit

The FBI offers a report on the Newseum's FBI exhibit.

Some of the FBI’s biggest terrorism cases since 9/11—along with headline-grabbing espionage and cyber investigations—are featured in an exhibit that opens today in the nation’s capital.

“Inside Today’s FBI: Fighting Crime in the Age of Terror” is an updated and expanded version of a popular, long-running exhibit at the Newseum, a museum devoted to news and journalism located a few blocks from FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

You can read the rest of the report via the below link:

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2015/november/newseum-goes-inside-todays-fbi

Stephen Hunter On The Police Shooting Of Tamir Rice

 

Stephen Hunter, author of I. Ripper and a good number of thrillers featuring former Marine sniper Bob Lee Swagger, offers a piece on the police shooting of Tamir Rice for powerlineblog.com.

 

We first got to know Stephen Hunter when he was the Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post movie critic. He is best known as a successful novelist, and he happens to know a great deal about guns. I, Ripper is his new novel. Published last month, it is in bookstores now.

Here he offers his reflections on the case of Tamir Rice on the occasion of a Cleveland judge sounding off on the fate of the cop involved, as covered by NBC News. Submitted for your consideration:

We all know that the police are waging war on young black men. Perhaps the most egregious example of this is the November shooting of Tamir Rice in Cleveland while he was holding a toy gun. A white officer emerged from his car and in less than five seconds fired lethal rounds into the innocent youngster holding–oh, wait, it was a pellet gun.

Hmmm. Seems to be some confusion here. Was it a toy gun or a pellet gun, which are quite different? Well, one place you won’t find the truth is NBC News, which tonight identified the pistol as BOTH a toy and a pellet gun, the first by anchorman Lester Holt, the second by a field correspondent. Of course both were wrong.

It was a Japanese airsoft gun., which fires (on the propulsion of either spring or gas) a 6 mm BB. But the point of airsoft isn’t what it shoots, but what it looks like. These are brilliantly accurate plastic reproductions of real guns. They are accurate to size, color, precise location and scale of operating mechanisms such as safeties or take-down levers, sights, stocks (frequently wood) and even operation. On the automatic versions the slide may be jacked backwards as on the real things, a magazine may be inserted into the butt and, when fired, the gas pneumatically drives the slide back, as if to eject a shell and allow another shell into the chamber. On the revolver variations, the cylnders rotate and may be disengaged from the frame to allow insertion of extremely authentic appearing cartridges into the six chambers. They cock and function, in all interactions, just like the real thing. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/06/stephen-hunter-the-case-of-tamir-rice.php

Note: I've reviewed several of Stephen Hunter's fine thrillers. You can read my Washington Times review of The Third Bullet via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2013/03/my-washington-times-review-of-stephen.html

'Broken Windows' Policing Does Work

Heather MacDonald defends the 'Broken Windows' theory at National Review.

New York Times columnist Charles Blow is angry again. This time he’s angry at me, among other “tough on crime, fear-mongering iron fist-ers.” Also, of course, at the cops. I had debated Blow last week about a Wall Street Journal op-ed of mine on depolicing and crime. Blow followed up with an online column in the Times entitled “Romanticizing ‘Broken Windows’ Policing.” It exemplifies the confusions of the Left about crime and policing.

 

My article had proposed that a rise in violent crime in many cities across the country may be the result of officers’ backing off from proactive policing. The last nine months have seen non-stop agitation against the police profession. Officers have routinely been called racists, murderers, and scourges of black communities. Arrests in inner-city communities are even more tense than usual, thanks to the media’s constant amplification of the “racist cop” meme. Cops are becoming reluctant to engage in discretionary enforcement, according to their own reports, for fear that if an encounter becomes confrontational, they will become the latest YouTube racist-cop sensation — or, worse, could find themselves indicted for a crime.

 

Blow calls this depolicing thesis “pernicious and slanderous.” It amounts to the “revisionist romanticizing of ‘broken windows’ policies — including the notoriously heinous and morally indefensible, not to mention unconstitutional-as-practiced, stop-and-frisk.” It has the effect of “smearing the blood running in the street onto the hands holding the placards.” But if the depolicing thesis is true, he says, “if there are any officers intentionally restraining themselves from doing normal police work because citizens have protested over perceived excessive force, then those officers are guilty of a dangerous, unethical dereliction of duty.”

 

... To test Blow’s assertion that broken-windows policing means that “poor black people . . . have to be afraid of the cops,” I attended a police community-council meeting in the South Bronx’s 41st Precinct last week. The “fear” that Blow attributes to “poor black people” was nowhere in evidence. Instead, I heard what I always hear from law-abiding residents of “poor black” neighborhoods: an urgent desire for more policing, not less, and above all for the enforcement of public-order laws in the face of an ongoing breakdown of informal social controls.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

 

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/419469/police-protesters-increase-crime 

Record-Breaking Seizure: Over 70 Kilograms Of Heroin, $2 Million Cash And Firearm Recovered In The Bronx

The DEA released the below information:

MAY 19 (MANHATTAN, N.Y.) - James J. Hunt, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New York Division; Bridget G. Brennan, New York City’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor; Raymond R. Parmer, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York; New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton; and Joseph A. D’Amico, Superintendent of the New York State Police, announced the arrest of four members of a narcotics trafficking network and the seizure of over 70 kilograms of heroin (154 lbs.) worth up to $50 million, plus $2 million in cash and a firearm. The massive load of narcotics and cash was recovered from a vehicle and an apartment in the Fieldston section of the Bronx, near Horace Mann School and adjacent to Van Cortlandt Park.

This is the largest heroin seizure in New York State in DEA history and the fourth largest heroin seizure in the U.S. It was the result of a yearlong investigation by the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor and the DEA’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force (NYDETF), Group T-31, which is comprised of DEA special agents, New York City Police Department (NYPD) detectives and New York State Police Investigators, and the ICE HSI-led El Dorado Task Force. The Yonkers Police Department and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey also assisted.

On Sunday, May 17, agents arrested the head of the multi-million dollar heroin organization, Jose A. Mercedes, aka “Hippie,” and a second defendant, Yenci Cruz Francisco. Both are charged with Operating as a Major Trafficker and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree. Two additional defendants were arrested in November.

A court authorized wiretap investigation revealed that Mercedes and his drug trafficking group received sizable shipments of heroin at least once a month from suppliers in Culican, Mexico, an area controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel. The organization is believed to have served as a main source of heroin for customers throughout the five boroughs, as well as Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

In the days leading up to the seizure and arrests, intercepted phone conversations suggested the organization was expecting delivery of a large load of heroin over the weekend. Agents set up surveillance outside 210 West 251st St. in Fieldston, where the organization was suspected of maintaining a stash location in Apt. 5E.

Late Saturday, agents tracked a Chevrolet Suburban and a Honda Accord driven by Mercedes, Cruz Francisco and a third individual as they travelled from 210 West 251st St. to an industrial parking lot off of Interstate 287 in Montville, N.J. The vehicles entered a section of the industrial lot where tractor-trailers were parked. After more than an hour, the Chevrolet Suburban and Honda Accord headed back to the Bronx.

Upon reaching 210 West 251st St., the Chevrolet Suburban was parked in a gated parking lot behind the building. At the request of the NYDETF, the Yonkers Police Department dispatched a K-9 Unit and obtained a positive hit for narcotics on the Chevrolet Suburban. Agents maintained surveillance at the location.

On Sunday morning, agents observed Mercedes arrive in a Kia Sorrento and stopped him for questioning. Several large bags containing a tan powdery substance were recovered from the front seat of the car and from a hidden compartment in the center console. At least one of the bags tested positive for heroin.

Subsequently, agents observed Cruz Francisco leave 210 West 251st St., enter the Chevrolet Suburban and start the engine. Agents stopped him and obtained a court authorized search warrant for the vehicle. A hidden compartment under the floor of the vehicle contained 70 rectangular-shaped kilogram packages of heroin labeled with the identifying name of “Rolex.” Also inside the vehicle was $24,000 cash.

Agents conducted a series of court authorized searches at apartments associated with the group. Inside 210 West 251st St., Apt. 5E, agents recovered $2 million from underneath the floorboards. A search of 830 Magenta St., Apt. 2J, in the Bronx yielded a .380 caliber firearm.

Last night Jose A. Mercedes and Cruz Francisco were arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court and held without bail, with their next court date set for Friday, May 22.

Two additional members of the narcotics trafficking group were previously charged on November 17, 2014. Mercedes’ son Jose Mercedes, JR. and defendant Juan Infante were arrested at 2851 Webb Ave., Apt. 1D, in the Bronx, where members of the NYDETF and HSI seized another 10 kilograms of heroin (22 lbs.) that had been hidden in a compartment inside a wall. An indictment filed by the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office charges both with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree and two counts each of Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia in the Second Degree.

Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan thanked her office’s Special Investigations Bureau, the DEA’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, the ICE HSI-led El Dorado Task Force, the Yonkers Police Department and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

DEA Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt stated, “Seventy kilograms of heroin was intended to be distributed throughout the Northeast, proving that NYC is the bull's eye for drug traffickers and heroin is their weapon.  Record breaking aside, this investigation and seizure are messages to our communities that DEA and our law enforcement partners are doing our part in fighting opioid addiction that is afflicting our nation, by seizing the heroin that drug traffickers are pushing into our city."

Bridget G. Brennan said, “The $50 million street value of the heroin in this case is a conservative estimate. To put it in perspective, this load was so large it carried the potential of supplying a dose of heroin to every man, woman and child in New York City. While this important seizure stopped a huge amount of heroin from flooding our city, it also highlights the critical need to intercept heroin before it ever reaches our region.”

“These millions of doses of heroin and millions of dollars represent much more than just a seizure. They represent violence, overdoses, crime, death and the suffering of our communities,” said Raymond R. Parmer Jr., Special Agent in Charge of HSI New York. “HSI and our federal, state and local law enforcement partners are determined to put an end to the heroin epidemic plaguing our neighborhoods.”

Police Commissioner William J. Bratton said, “I want to thank the investigators of the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force and the prosecutors of the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor whose work resulted in this significant heroin seizure.  The NYPD will continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners to stop this dangerous and highly addictive drug from being sold in our neighborhoods and destroying lives.”

"This case will have a significant impact on the drug trade in New York State and throughout the Northeast, by keeping this large load of heroin out of our communities," said New York State Police Superintendent Joseph A. D'Amico. "The State Police remain committed to working with our partners in law enforcement and using every resource available to shut these drug operations down. We continue to send a clear message to those dealing these dangerous and deadly drugs -- you will be found, you will be prosecuted and you will go to prison."

DEFENDANTS	CHARGES
Jose A. Mercedes 185 Bronx River Rd., Apt. 5G Yonkers, NY 5/22/1968	Operating as a Major Trafficker – 1 ct CPCS 1st – 1 ct
Yenci Cruz Francisco 210 West 251st St., Apt. 5E Bronx, NY 9/17/1995	Operating as a Major Trafficker – 1 ct CPCS 1st – 1 ct

The charges and allegations are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

My Washington Times Review of "U.S. Marshals: Inside America's Most Storied Law Enforcement Agency"

My review of Mike Earp's U.S. Marshals: Inside America's Most Storied Law Enforcement Agency appeared today in the Washington Times.

Deputy U.S. Marshal: How often did you draw your gun?

Retiring FBI agent: Never. You?

Deputy U.S. Marshal: Seven times before lunch.

On Sept. 24, the U.S. Marshals Service celebrated its 225th anniversary, making them the country’s oldest law enforcement agency — and, according to Mike Earp, being a deputy U.S. marshal is one of the most dangerous jobs in law enforcement. The deputy U.S. marshals are involved in more gunfights and physical altercations with criminals than the FBI or any other federal law enforcement agency.

In his book, “U.S. Marshals,” Mr. Earp, a former associate director of the Marshals Service and a relative of legendary Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt Earp, offers tales from the deputy marshals who track and arrest the criminals that law enforcement considers the “worst of the worst.”

Mr. Earp retired as the third highest-ranking official in the U.S. Marshals Service in 2012 after 29 years of service. As the associate director for operations, he supervised all operational divisions and programs for the agency.

His book is based on interviews with more than 50 current and former deputies and recounts some of the agency’s greatest and most dangerous cases. There are stories about the chase and capture of violent outlaw bikers, drug traffickers and murderers. There are also stories of well-known fugitives the marshals captured, such as the escaped prisoner and convicted spy Christopher Boyce, New York mobster and stone-cold killer Charlie Carneglia and D.C. sniper John Muhammad.

You can read the rest of the review via the below link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/nov/11/book-review-tales-from-the-marshals-who-hunt-the-w/?page=all#pagebreak

 

Note: Above is a photo of Mike Earp, courtesy of Kaitlyn Kennedy at HarperCollins. 

The U.S. Marshals Service Celebrate 225 Years of Service

The U.S. Marshals Service released the below information:

WASHINGTON – Today the U.S. Marshals Service celebrates its 225th anniversary. As the nation’s oldest, most versatile federal law enforcement agency, it continues to build on its legacy of steadfast service and its unique position in the country’s federal justice system.

“When President George Washington appointed the first 13 U.S. Marshals on Sept. 24, 1789, his pen marked the creation of an agency that has since played a role in virtually every facet of the nation’s federal judiciary during times of crisis and times of peace,” said U.S. Marshals Service Director Stacia Hylton.

“From upholding the law in our untamed western territories to tracking and apprehending the most notorious fugitives, the U.S. Marshals Service has been committed to answering the call of our great nation for justice,” said Hylton.

Some of those challenges to justice included responding to the Whiskey Rebellion under the command of President Washington in 1794; keeping the trains moving during the Pullman railroad strikes in 1894; enforcing court orders related to civil rights and the desegregation of the South during the 1960s, protecting witnesses who testified against organized crime, and securing all high-threat federal trials involving domestic and international terrorism such as the World Trade Center and Oklahoma City bombing trials, and most recently, the Boston Marathon bombing trial.

“As we mark 225 years of service, our men and women stand ready to continue that commitment,” said Hylton.

Today, the U.S. Marshals Service is a force of 5,400 deputies and civil servants who carry out operational and administrative duties as varied as apprehending fugitives, housing and transporting prisoners, protecting witnesses and federal judges, and managing and selling seized assets.

Most notably, the Marshals Service is the federal government’s primary agency for conducting fugitive investigations. Working with its law enforcement partners at the federal, state, and local levels, the Marshals apprehend more federal fugitives than all other federal law enforcement agencies combined. In fact, in fiscal year 2013 alone, the U.S. Marshals arrested more than 110,000 fugitives.
"With our fugitive task forces, state-of-the-art technology, and investigative expertise, we have made the idea of escaping justice nearly impossible. Every day our deputies track down the worst-of-the-worst criminal offenders,” said Hylton.

Other agency accomplishments include protecting the federal courts and facilities from more than 1,000 threats and inappropriate communications, daily managing the care and transport of nearly 60,000 prisoners, and combating major criminal activity by stripping criminals of their ill-gotten gains and distributing $200 million to victims of crime through the effective management and disposition of assets seized for forfeiture. In addition, through the enforcement of the Adam Walsh Act, the U.S. Marshals Service helps protect our communities and children from noncompliant sex offenders.

“As we mark this tremendous milestone of 225 years, I am honored to lead an organization made up of so many dedicated professionals, and I am proud of their commitment to and embodiment of our motto of justice, integrity and service,” said Hylton. 

One Tough Cop: Mike Chitwood Vs. The Scumbags

Clark DeLeon, a columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer, offers a column on veteran police chief Mike Chitwood.

Mike Chitwood will celebrate his 50th year in law enforcement this April, and he's still not the top cop in his hometown. Go figure.

The unspoken message in author Harold I. Gullan's new biography, Tough Cop: Mike Chitwood vs. the Scumbags, is that this son of South Philadelphia has spent decades preparing himself for the role of  Philadelphia police commissioner.

"There's a tragedy in every triumph," Gullan said in a phone interview of Chitwwood's heroic, troubled, and ultimately vindicated career  as a street cop, highway patrolman, homicide detective, hostage negotiator, and suburban and big-city chief. "He'd have made a great police commissioner.'

You can read the rest of the column via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/inquirer/20140126_A_day_with_U__Darby_s_tough_cop.html

   
Note: I've read Tough Cop and I plan to interview Mike Chitwood in the near future. I'll post the interview here.    

'Untouchable' Idea - Building Named For Eliot Ness

Katherine Skiba at the Chicago Tribune offers a piece on the proposed naming of a federal building in Washington D.C. after lawman Eliot Ness.

WASHINGTON -- Illinois’ U.S. senators proposed today that a major federal law-enforcement building in the nation’s capital be named for Eliot Ness, the Prohibition-era crime fighter who helped bring down Chicago gangster Al Capone.

The headquarters of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, built in recent years, would be called the Eliot Ness ATF Building under the senators’ resolution.

The Chicago-born Ness is immortalized in the TV series “The Untouchables” and the 1987 film starring Kevin Costner. Capone, once Public Enemy No. 1, was convicted and imprisoned on tax violations after Ness and his team of federal Prohibition agents raided the gangster’s breweries and arrested dozens of his men.

According to the bureau, Ness spent 10 years in federal law enforcement with the ATF’s legacy agencies.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-untouchable-idea-building-named-for-eliot-ness-20140110,0,1797502.story

Note: If you want to learn about Eliot Ness, the man rather than the myth, and true crime history, you should read Kenneth Tucker's  Eliot Ness and the Untouchables.

FBI Warns Public That Cyber Criminals Continue To Use Spear-Phishing Attacks To Compromise Computer Networks

The FBI web site offers a warning about cyber criminals' use of spear-phishing attacks.

The FBI has seen an increase in criminals who use spear-phishing attacks to target multiple industry sectors. These attacks allow criminals to access private computer networks. They exploit that access to create fake identities, steal intellectual property, and compromise financial credentials to steal money from victims’ accounts.

In spear-phishing attacks, cyber criminals target victims because of their involvement in an industry or organization they wish to compromise. Often, the e-mails contain accurate information about victims obtained via a previous intrusion or from data posted on social networking sites, blogs, or other websites. This information adds a veneer of legitimacy to the message, increasing the chances the victims will open the e-mail and respond as directed.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.fbi.gov/sandiego/press-releases/2013/fbi-warns-public-that-cyber-criminals-continue-to-use-spear-phishing-attacks-to-compromise-computer-networks?utm_campaign=email-Daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=fbi-in-the-news&utm_content=240054

President Nominates James B. Comey As New FBI Director

The FBI web site reports on the nomination ceremony of James B. Comey as the new FBI director,

President Barack Obama today nominated James B. Comey, Jr. to serve as the next Director of the FBI. Comey must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate before taking office.

“Jim is exceptionally qualified to handle the full range of challenges faced by today’s FBI,” the president said during a ceremony held at the White House. “I am confident that Jim will be a leader who understands how to keep America safe and to stay true to our founding ideals no matter what the future may bring.”  

"I want to commend the president for the choice of Jim Comey as the next director of the FBI,” said current Director Robert S. Mueller. “I have had the opportunity to work with Jim for a number of years at the Department of Justice, and I have found him to be a man of honesty, dedication, and integrity. His experience, his judgment, and his strong sense of duty will benefit not only the Bureau, but the country as a whole.”

Comey served as deputy attorney general under the George W. Bush administration from December 2003 until August 2005, running the day-to-day operations of the Department of Justice. Prior to that, he was U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted a number of major terrorism and criminal cases. From 1996 to 2001, Comey worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. He has extensive industry experience as well, serving as general counsel and senior vice president for Lockheed Martin and general counsel for the investment firm Bridgewater Associates.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2013/june/president-nominates-new-fbi-director 

Note: The above FBI photo shows, left to right, Robert Mueller, James Comey and President Obama. 

'Cops" TV Show Leaving Fox For Spike Network

A piece in Philly.com reports on the TV reality show Cops moving from Fox, where it aired for 25 years, to Spike.

NEW YORK - The "bad boys" are on the move. The Saturday night television fixture "Cops" is leaving Fox after 25 years and will be shown on the Spike network.

The cable network aimed at young male viewers said it will begin airing the action documentary series with the indelible theme song ("bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do when they come for you?") in September.

The move isn't really a surprise. Fox had cut down on the number of episodes ordered this season and frequently pre-empted the show for football games or ultimate fighting matches, which drew higher ratings. Fox will announce its fall season schedule next week.

"All good things must come to an end and there's a renewal process in life," said John Langley, the show's creator. "I'm fortunate I have the opportunity to take it to Spike."

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/television/20130506_ap_foxscopsleavingnetworkafter25years.html

You can also read an earlier post on Cops and link to a piece about my night out with Philly cops doing drug raids via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2012/11/bad-boys-bad-boys-cops-makes-crime-pay.html